Telerehabilitation in Low- and Middle-income Countries

Abstract

Telemedicine is the delivery of healthcare services using information and communication technologies (ICT) to its users. Mobile communications in telemedicine or Mobile health (mHealth) is the most commonly accepted mode of telemedicine in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) due to its affordability and user-friendly features. Telemedicine may be used to treat, prevent and monitor health conditions; as well as to promote health and educate clients. Access to medical and rehabilitation services in LMICs may be limited due to the lack of expertise, geographical locations, and sociocultural issues. Telerehabilitation (TR) may be a practical solution to circumvent these barriers in LMICs. TR providers must possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise to deliver quality TR services to clients while ensuring patient safety and adhering to medical ethics and regulations. Policymakers and administrators should ensure vulnerable groups are included when making policies on healthcare services. Changes must be made to existing policies on telemedicine, in order to include all stakeholders in TR and overcome human, organizational, and technical challenges in LMICs.

The Delphi Method: Developing a Telerehabilitation Practice Guideline for Patients in Indonesia with Long COVID

“…A review of challenges to deliver telerehabilitation in low to middle income countries stated that human, organizational, and technical factors can all become obstacles. These factors usually overlap with one another, such as guidelines and laws on telemedicine (human and organizational); lack of digital knowledge and skills (human and technical); and lack of financing, governance, technical support, and training (organizational and technical)( Mohamad & Defi, 2023 ).…”

Feasibility of tele-rehabilitation in low resource setting: perceived barriers and facilitators among physiotherapy professionals

“…Despite knowing the remarkable benefits, there exist an array of challenges to implement telerehabilitation services in a setting with meagre resources. 11 Globally, extensive study has been carried out to understand the feasibility of telerehabilitation among various health-care professionals to accelerate the healthcare service; however, there is a dearth of literature among allied health professionals exploring the use of telerehabilitation in low resource setting. Furthermore, to augment the uptake of telerehabilitation services and to enhance the participation of patients with chronic diseases in rehabilitation program; our study aims to identify the perceived barriers and facilitators to telerehabilitation during COVID 19 among physiotherapy professional in a resource limited setting.…”